COMMERCE CITY — When Rapids backup goalkeeper John Berner played well substituting for injured starter Clint Irwin in the first three games this season, Irwin couldn’t help but think about how he won the job from Matt Pickens last season.

Pickens was an excellent goalkeeper for the club, but Irwin took his place a year ago when Pickens broke his left forearm in the third game. Irwin had never played a minute in MLS before, but he performed so well that Pickens didn’t get his job back after his arm healed.

“There’s no way you can’t be thinking about that,” said Irwin, who injured his right quadriceps in the final preseason game this year. “At the same time, you’ve got to realize that you’ve got to get healthy first, and trust the coaching staff to make sure the timing was good and it was the right situation to step back in.”

Irwin has been back in goal the past two games, road wins in which the Rapids allowed only one goal.

Pickens never made another appearance for the Rapids after his injury, and they released him during the offseason. Now he’s playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the second-tier North American Soccer League. Oscar Pareja, the coach who decided to stay with Irwin last season, is now with FC Dallas.

“Oscar sort of said, ‘This is your job to lose, and until you prove otherwise, you’re the No. 1,’ ” Irwin said. “I took confidence from that, but at the same time it was a competition every day, and I think Matt made me a better goalkeeper by the way he approached things. I was thankful that he was very professional in the situation because I know it’s hard.”

Berner actually was the team’s third-stringer in preseason, but second-stringer Joe Nasco left Denver the week of the team’s opener at New York to be with his wife in Atlanta for the birth of their first child. Now goalkeepers coach Chris Sharp knows all three of his ‘keepers are keepers.

“Clint had a very good year last year, but every day they’re constantly competing,” Sharp said. “We want a competition every day so they’re pushing themselves. They’re three unbelievably good athletes, they push each other very, very well, and it’s a great problem to have — to have three guys like that who could be three No. 1s. They’re all big boys, they’re very, very good in the air, they all have very good feet.”

The Rapids have given up only five goals in five games. Only two teams have yielded fewer: Sporting Kansas City (four) and Los Angeles (two in four games). In Colorado’s only loss, a 3-2 setback to defending MLS Cup champion Kansas City, the goals were caused by defensive breakdowns in front of Berner, including the game-winner when the Rapids were playing with 10 men.

“We’ve said from the beginning, it’s going to be a battle all year for that position,” said Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni. “Clint definitely has the benefit of the doubt from the staff, as to his performances last year, his first two performances this year and the leadership he brings to the team, the calm. Those are very important attributes. We’ll find ways to get John and Joe involved in the rotation.”

The Post's ski and Olympics writer, Meyer covered his 12th games this summer in Rio de Janeiro. He has covered five World Alpine Ski Championships and more than 100 World Cup ski events and is a member of the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame. He also regularly covers the Colorado Rapids.

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